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Review
. 2022 May 17;15(Suppl 1):i17-i22.
doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfab245. eCollection 2022 May.

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1: novel therapies at a glance

Affiliations
Review

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1: novel therapies at a glance

Justine Bacchetta et al. Clin Kidney J. .

Abstract

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare and severe autosomal recessive disease of oxalate metabolism, resulting from a mutation in the AGXT gene that encodes the hepatic peroxisomal enzyme alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT). Until recently, treatment of PH1 was supportive, consisting of intensive hyperhydration, use of crystallization inhibitors (citrate and neutral phosphorus), in a subset of responsive PH1 patients' pharmacologic doses of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and kidney and liver transplantation when patients progressed to kidney failure. Treatment approaches have been similar for PH2 caused by mutations in hepatic glyoxylate reductase/hydroxypyruvate reductase (GR/HPR), although pyridoxine does not have any benefit in this group. PH3 is caused by mutations of mitochondrial 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase (HOGA1) and was the most recently described. Kidney failure appears less common in PH3, although kidney stones occur as frequently as in PH1 and PH2. Oxalate metabolism in the liver is complex. Novel therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi) have recently emerged to modulate these pathways, designed to deplete substrate for enzymes upstream and decrease/avoid oxalate production. Two hepatic enzymes have been targeted to date in PH: glycolate oxidase (GO) with lumasiran and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) with nedosiran. Lumasiran was approved for the treatment of PH1 in 2020 by both the European Medicines Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, whilst clinical trials with nedosiran are ongoing. Results with the two RNAi therapies demonstrate a significant reduction of urinary oxalate excretion in PH1 patients, but long-term data on efficacy (preservation of kidney function, decreased stone events) and safety remain to be established. Nevertheless, the hepatically targeted RNAi approach represents a potential 'game changer' in the field of PH1, bringing hope to families and patients that they may be able to avoid liver and/or kidney transplantation in the future and suffer fewer stone events, perhaps with less strict therapeutic regimens. Pharmacological compounds directly inhibiting GO or LDH are also under development and could be of special interest in developing countries where RNAi therapies may not be readily available in the near future. Approaches to manipulate the intestinal microbiome with a goal to increase oxalate degradation or to stimulate secretion of oxalate into the intestine from plasma are also under development. Overall, we appear to be entering a new phase of PH treatment, with an array of promising approaches emerging that will need optimization and evaluation to establish long-term efficacy and safety.

Keywords: LDH-A; RNA interference; glycolate oxidase; hyperoxaluria; paediatrics.

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Figures

FIGURE 1:
FIGURE 1:
Generation and elimination of oxalate and potential therapeutic targets. Oxalate in the blood is derived from hepatic metabolism and absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Since humans possess no enzyme to degrade oxalate, oxalate that enters the bloodstream must be eliminated by the kidney. Within tubular fluid, oxalate can combine with calcium to make relatively insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that, in turn, can result in calcium oxalate kidney stones or severe oxalate nephropathy. Mutations in three enzymes have been associated with hepatic overproduction of oxalate: AGXT that encodes peroxysomal alanine glyoxylate transferase (PH1), cytosolic GR/HPR that encodes glyoxylate reductase/hydroxy pyruvate reductase (PH2) and HOGA1 that encodes mitochondrial 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase (PH3). Defects in all three genes are thought to lead to increased production of glyoxylate, which, in turn, is converted by the hepatic isoform of LDH-A into oxalate. However, recent evidence suggests that the pathways involved in oxalate generation in PH2 may be more complicated. In addition, the pathways that lead from HOG malfunction to oxalate generation are also incompletely understood, but may involve GR/HPR inhibition within mitochondria, with the net effect of excess glyoxylate generation, which, in turn, can be converted into oxalate. The majority of oxalate from the diet is felt to be absorbed passively with paracellular transport. However, experimental evidence also suggests that oxalate can be actively secreted by intestinal cells. In vitro animal studies suggest that the oxalate-degrading bacteria Oxalobacter formigenes secretes a soluble factor that can stimulate luminal secretion of oxalate via SLC26A6. Work is ongoing to better understand these pathways and identify other factors that might increase active oxalate secretion into the gut. Other bacteria within the intestinal microbiome can also potentially degrade oxalate; thus, work is ongoing to determine whether or not manipulation of intestinal oxalate degradation could be employed to either reduce oxalate absorption from the diet or increase secretion from the bloodstream.
FIGURE 2:
FIGURE 2:
Liver metabolism of oxalate and targets of the novel RNAi therapies. GO, glycolate oxidase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; AGT, alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase; DAO, d-amino oxidase; GR, glyoxylate reductase; HOGA, 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase. Oxalate metabolism in the liver is complex. Novel therapies based on RNAi have recently emerged to modulate these pathways: the main principle is to induce depletion of substrate for enzymes upstream to decrease/avoid oxalate production. The liver is a particularly attractive therapeutic target, since particles containing RNAi can be coated with molecules that efficiently promote hepatic endocytosis. In PH1, two hepatic enzymes have been targeted to decrease/avoid oxalate production: GO with lumasiran and LDH-A with nedosiran. Mannose/N-acetyl glucose amine residues on the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor (Gal-NAc) can rapidly and specifically bind the RNAi-containing particles, thus minimizing off-target effects and maximizing delivery to the liver after a subcutaneous injection.

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